Britax Car Seats

[jeb]

I just purchased a new roundabout because I've heard such wonderful things. We own a 2000 Chevey Blazer and a 1998 Honda Accord. My husband swears it's not fitting in either car correctly. Does anyone know if it the type of car or is it my husband? Feel free to be blunt!

[Scottnos]

Just out of curiosity, are you trying to install rear-facing or front-facing? I think that it is more difficult to get a seat this size to fit rear-facing because of the difficulty in getting the seat at 45 degrees. Check to see if a car dealership nearby has anybody certified to inspect an installation. These people generally know how to get the best fit.

[jeb]

Sorry- We are trying to install as rear facing. The restraint sits too upright when installed even in the reclined position. I do not want to compromise the installation with towels, or the like to get the restraint to fit. It seems o.k. until I really cinch down on the seatbelts. My thought is that the path for the seatbelt is too close to the back of the restraint and tends to pull it into the seat cushion of the car causing the tilt.The seat in the Accord is flat in comparison to the seat in the Blazer, yet it does not seem to allow the restraint to sit
at a reasonable angle. My first thought is that I am over tightening the belts, but I don't realistically think this is possible. Someone suggested using the tether to pull the restraint into the correct position, but this seems like really poor engineering on a seat that cost $200.00
I have phoned Britax, but have had NO response in 2 days!!
Any other suggestions?

[redhotpepper]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Feb-27-01 AT 03:56PM (Mountain)[/font][p]Hi there!

I also own a Blazer and a Roundabout car seat. It is perfectly safe to use pool noodles or tightly rolled towels to get the proper recline. We use them at the car seat clinics where I inspect seats. It's the design of the vehicle seat that causes the incorrect recline. Vehicle seats are made to be comfortable for adults, not to fit car seats.

If your seat is tipping to one side it's, once again, because of the seat belt not the car seat. I had the same problem and instead of using the locking mode of the seat belt I used the built in locking clip. It fixed the problem.

Also, make sure you are using an outboard position in the Blazer. The owners manual states that you cannot put a car seat in the center position. The reason is the ends of the seat belt are too close together.

Make sure your husband or you are putting weight in the seat. I get up in the seat and sit in it and rock back and forth until I get the seat belt as tight as I'd like. It does take a little brute force to get these things tight! I'm usually panting and scratched up at the end of a car seat clinic.

Annie

[~JJ~]

I just have to sound in here! I have the same problem w/ my roundabouts. I bought two of them for my twins (8 months). I wanted the best and easiest to use. I have been using them face forward becauseI can't get them to recline in the rear facing position. I could have paid a lot less and bought the freeway if I was just going to do forward facing. (Not recommended though at my twins age and weight.)

I called Britax North America. I never got an option to speak to someone so I pushed "0" and got someone. I could tell that she was NOT happy about it, but did attempt to give me some instructions. She told me that I must be pushing down on the seat during installation. I explained to her that I could not be doing that since I had to use one hand to keep the belt from retracting and one hand to tighten the belt. She kept telling me that it was ok if the seat would not recline in the rear facing position. I finally said, "What do you mean, it is ok?" She told me that was still safe. I told her that it was not safe to me if my infants heads were flopping down. They are not ready to sit up right for long periods of time. She had no more to say.

I think they have a real design flaw & they probably know it. The seats might be secured well, but infants need to be reclined! I have been very dissappointen that I spent about $400.00 to get the best and I have had this problem. The Britax rep that I talked to really did not seem to care (of course she did not even want to talk to me in the first place.)

I still plan to have my husband help me install them rear facing and reclined. I think it is going to take having a second person hold the seat in recline while I thighten the belt. I am really not sure that will work either.

I think that the roundabout is a good seat forward facing, but one should just buy the freeway model for forward facing and save $40.00+.

I don't reccommend it for little infants! I give Britax a real THUMBS DOWN for customer service, especially on such an important issue!

~JJ~

[redhotpepper]

Call Britax back and talk to someone different. Their customer service is usually excellent. Try selection #5 on their menu to get a real person.

If I understand correctly, you have them in the reclined position but because of the angle of your seat they are sitting pretty upright? Or is it that your seats won't stay in the reclined position? If they won't stay reclined, Britax should be willing to fix the problem for you. If you do have them reclined and they are upright, you can use a noodle or 2 in order to get a better position.

I agree that it is easier to install an RA front facing but it really, really is not recommended that you turn children front facing before a year (adjusted age if they were preemies). Their bones are not calcified in their neck yet and can stretch up to 2 inches while the spinal cord can only stretch 1/4". This can lead to severe spinal cord injuries and even death.

You may want to find someone in your area to help you install the seats. If you go to the NHTSA website, they have a listing of Child Passenger Safety Technicians by zip code, so you should be able to find someone close that can help.

Annie

[Scottnos]

>If I understand correctly, you have
>them in the reclined position
>but because of the angle
>of your seat they are
>sitting pretty upright? Or
>is it that your seats
>won't stay in the reclined
>position? If they won't
>stay reclined, Britax should be
>willing to fix the problem
>for you.>

>Annie

Actually Annie, I have a problem with my seat staying reclined. When pushing down on the seat during installation, the seat will unlock from the reclined position and move to an upright position. I tested all RA seats at the store from which I purchased mine, and all exhibited the same behavior. The store owner and I each made calls to Britax regarding this, and were told that the seat is safe despite this behavior. I am still suspicious, and am sending a complaint to NHTSA so that hopefully, the seat can be properly evaluated.

Scott

[elaine]

I had this (the recline unlocks if I put my weight in the seat to install it tightly) happen as well. Has anyone figured it out yet?

[HH]

We've had a Roundabout for three years and used it rear facing for our first child and now our second child is in it rear facing. We've always used the anchor -- rear facing as well as forward facing. It's designed for that and the anchor pulls it to the proper recline. We've installed it in our Jeep as well as our Mazda.

[tobymc]

I've got one of these seats, and I used it successfully rear facing for a long time. At first I did have this problem too. In fact, I thought I had broken my seat the first time I pushed down on the seat to install it and it popped from full recline up to a more upright recline. However, the all recline settings still worked, so I figured it was OK.

I found that the solution was to put most of my weight in the lowest area of the seat (where the child's butt sits), rather than where the legs fall. I did this while the seat was in a fully reclined position. I was able to get the seat completely tight (and I'm a technician, so I know what completely tight can be). My seat was correctly installed that way, but I did choose to use the tether also, which sure gave it terrific extra stability. That seat didn't budge a milimeter when I was done, and was reclined very nicely.

Sharing your problem with NHTSA is a great idea (www.nhtsa.gov has a link to the reporting form). It never hurts to have them aware of the problems that we as consumers are finding with the seats. However, I think you should be able to get this seat in correctly as is.

What did your local technician say about this? It is always useful to consult someone with training who can work hands on with you.

I hope this helps.

Toby, CPS tech